國際科技信息

《科學(xué)》雜志評出八大宇宙未解之謎

大多數(shù)科學(xué)家認(rèn)為，約有四分之三的宇宙正在以暗物質(zhì)和暗能量的形式消失，而這兩者目前都沒被直接觀察到。上圖是基于猜測而繪制出的暗物質(zhì)3D影像。

據(jù)英國《每日郵報(bào)》6月2日報(bào)道，美國《科學(xué)》雜志日前選出了八大宇宙未解之謎，科學(xué)家們承認(rèn)，其中一些“可能永遠(yuǎn)也無法找到答案”。

這八大未解之謎涵蓋范圍很廣，從未被鑒定過的神秘暗物質(zhì)到恒星爆炸的真相。根據(jù)享譽(yù)世界的《科學(xué)》雜志的表述，這八大宇宙未解之謎都是由頂尖的科學(xué)家從他們所鉆研的領(lǐng)域中歸納出來的，科學(xué)家們甚至還分別為自己所提的謎團(tuán)撰寫了論文進(jìn)行闡述。

德國馬克斯.普朗克研究院的天體物理學(xué)家希蒙.懷特表示：“部分謎題的產(chǎn)生是因?yàn)槲覀冞€沒找到解決它們的線索?！眮碜浴犊茖W(xué)》雜志的羅伯特.孔茨稱：“通過天文觀測，每個(gè)未解之謎都有可能最終得到解決?！?/p>

然而，另外一些科學(xué)精英認(rèn)為，其中一些謎題不太可能會被解開。其中，最大的謎題就是關(guān)于暗物質(zhì)，科學(xué)家們坦言，這個(gè)謎團(tuán)可能永遠(yuǎn)也無法解開。

《科學(xué)》雜志盤點(diǎn)的八大宇宙未解之謎分別是：

1、暗能量，構(gòu)成現(xiàn)存宇宙的73%但從未被觀察到或測量過。暗能量的存在是“應(yīng)需而生”的，它能平衡關(guān)于宇宙的數(shù)學(xué)公式，但可能永遠(yuǎn)不會被觀測到；

2、暗物質(zhì)，與暗能量緊密相關(guān)，被描述為將宇宙萬物粘合在一起的“膠水”。為《科學(xué)》雜志撰寫相關(guān)論文的阿德里安 丘認(rèn)為，與暗能量不同，科學(xué)家們很可能有朝一日能切實(shí)觀測到這種物質(zhì)；

3、重子哪里去了？重子是一種能構(gòu)成特殊物質(zhì)的顆粒，但出于某些原因，當(dāng)研究人員把暗能量、暗物質(zhì)相加并把其它歸于重子時(shí)，研究者所得的結(jié)果竟不是100%；

4、為什么恒星會爆炸？人們已經(jīng)對有關(guān)恒星形成以及太陽系形成的許多過程有了初步認(rèn)知，但科學(xué)家們承認(rèn)，他們?nèi)圆荒芡耆斫猱?dāng)一個(gè)恒星爆炸時(shí)其內(nèi)部情況到底是怎樣的，只知道爆炸后會形成超新星；

5、是什么使宇宙再電離？自宇宙大爆炸后數(shù)十萬年，電子被從原子上剝離，但目前尚不知這是為什么；

6、各種能量充沛的宇宙射線的源頭是什么？盡管地球的大氣層能幫助我們抵擋住大多數(shù)宇宙射線，但我們每天仍會受到這些射線的“轟擊”，科學(xué)家們至今無法就這些射線的源頭達(dá)成共識；

7、為什么我們的太陽系如此獨(dú)特？我們所在的太陽系是按照邏輯逐步形成的，還是誤打誤撞罷了？沒人真正知曉。

8、為什么日冕那么熱？專研太陽的科學(xué)家們始終想不明白。日冕是太陽的最外層部分，但其溫度之高仍超乎想象。距離我們最近的這顆恒星所擁有的這層奇怪“分層”仍舊是個(gè)謎。

The eight space mysteries science CAN'T solve - from our inside-out sun to the 75% of the universe that has 'gone missing'

Scientists have revealed the eight biggest unanswered questions surrounding our universe.

They range from the mystery of dark matter, which makes up 73% of everything but has never been identifi ed, to questions over why our Sun is so hot.

Formulated by the prestigious journal Science, have all been raised by the leading scientists in their fi eld, each of whom also wrote an essay on the topic.

Dark Energy, which appears to make up 73% of everything that exists, and still it can’t be seen, or even measured. The energy is 'needed' to balance out the mathematics of the universe,but may not ever be able to be detected.

Dark Matier, which is closely linked to Dark Energy, is the term used to describe the ‘glue’ which holds everything in the universe together.

However, Adrian Cho,who wrote Science’s essay on the subject, believes that unlike dark energy, scientists stand a reasonably good chance of one day actually detecting a particle of the stu ff .

Where are the missing baryons? Baryons are particles that make unormal matter, but for some reason when adding up dark energy, dark matter and then leaving the rest to baryons,researchers can’t come up with a number that equals 100% - hence the mystery

Why do stars explode? Many of the processes of star formation and solar system formation are known - but researchers admit they still don’t really understand what goes on in a star when it explodes, forming what is known as a supernova.

What re-ionized the universe?For a few hundred thousand years atier the Big Bang, electrons were stripped from atoms - we have no idea why.

What is the source of the most energetic cosmic rays? We’re bombarded with them every day, yet researchers can’t agree on where they come from. Our atmosphere shields us from most of the rays.

Why is our solar system so odd? Did our solar system form the way it did by following logical steps, or was it all just chaos and chance?Nobody really knows.

Why is the sun's corona so hot? Those that study the sun still really don’t know.The corona is the furthest layer from the sun's core, but it's still incredibly hot - and the reasons for this strange 'layering' of our nearest star are still a mystery.

英媒：中國科學(xué)的崛起存在障礙

上世紀(jì)80年代初，陳德亮（音）在中國開始了他的科學(xué)生涯。陳回憶說，“當(dāng)時(shí)有碩士學(xué)位就能成為研究員，那會還沒博士?！弊阅菚r(shí)起，中國已發(fā)生重大變化。這個(gè)國家以驚人速度增加科研經(jīng)費(fèi)，如今發(fā)表的科學(xué)論文數(shù)量僅次于美國。光讀這些新聞，你可能認(rèn)為中國就要趕超西方了。

然而，中國的科學(xué)進(jìn)步并非確定無疑的事。對在西方工作的中國科學(xué)家的采訪和經(jīng)合組織的數(shù)據(jù)都顯示，政治限制和文化態(tài)度持續(xù)阻礙中國的科學(xué)發(fā)展?？茖W(xué)家們說，與中國進(jìn)行國際合作困難得多，所以很多人寧愿留在西方。

這也是陳的經(jīng)歷。上世紀(jì)80年代他在德國上的大學(xué)，目前在瑞典一所大學(xué)教書，仍與中國科學(xué)界保持密切聯(lián)系。他說從純粹的科學(xué)觀點(diǎn)來說，在華工作是令人興奮的事，尤其是那里提供慷慨的研究經(jīng)費(fèi)。但有關(guān)中國將在今后20年內(nèi)超越美國的觀點(diǎn)未免太過樂觀。從缺乏好學(xué)校到對空氣、食品質(zhì)量的擔(dān)憂等，（中國的）很多情況仍令不少科學(xué)家卻步門外。更重要的是，中國缺乏自由思考和順從權(quán)威的態(tài)度傷害了科學(xué)進(jìn)步，“中國的科學(xué)文化與歐美相當(dāng)不同，對于權(quán)威有過高的尊重，這在科學(xué)上不是好事?！?/p>

英國皇家學(xué)會2011年一份報(bào)告稱，1978年到2006年間有106萬中國人在海外留學(xué)，其中70%的人沒回國。這一數(shù)字已下降，但估計(jì)仍有約一半人在國外留學(xué)后選擇不回國。

北京在努力改變這種現(xiàn)狀，政府支持的千人計(jì)劃已說服600名海外中國人和外國學(xué)者回到中國，北京承諾“在住房、醫(yī)療和子女教育方面提供優(yōu)惠政策”。這是個(gè)好的開始，但這類計(jì)劃的最大挑戰(zhàn)是吸引到愿意永久回國的人。陳說：“問題不僅僅是薪水?！苯?jīng)合組織估計(jì)中國每年在科研上的支出約1540億美元，比10年前的區(qū)區(qū)300億美元大幅度提升。但這仍只相當(dāng)于歐盟的一半，與美國的4000億美元相比更是相形見絀。

投資開始取得成效。中國已超過英國成為發(fā)表科學(xué)論文第二多的國家，專利申請量也在飆升。2009年中國在美國登記1655件專利，而1989年是52件，1999年是90件。從中國大學(xué)畢業(yè)的理科和工程學(xué)博士研究生的人數(shù)比例超過55%，比得上經(jīng)合組織成員國的最高比例。但正如陳所說，并非一切都是為了錢。中國向科學(xué)家提供鼓勵發(fā)表論文的優(yōu)厚政策，而在西方的中國科學(xué)家則認(rèn)為，這些措施助長了研究注重?cái)?shù)量而非質(zhì)量，導(dǎo)致包括剽竊和數(shù)據(jù)造假在內(nèi)的一系列破壞性極大的丑聞。

中國可能是多產(chǎn)的，但中國科學(xué)家在《自然》、《科學(xué)》這類頂尖國際刊物上發(fā)表的論文數(shù)量仍遠(yuǎn)落后于西方。中國的論文中，來自國際合作的引證更是少得可憐。中國在2009年發(fā)表28.5萬篇論文，平均每千人約0.2篇，發(fā)表在頂尖期刊上的僅為每千人0.05篇。相比之下，美英分別為1.6篇和2篇，其中一半多都是在頂尖刊物上發(fā)表的。小國瑞典，平均每千人4篇，一半以上在頂尖期刊上。

學(xué)者認(rèn)為，儒家的忠君思想和避免對抗的文化傳統(tǒng)阻礙了中國科學(xué)發(fā)展。激烈競爭也造成將海外人才拒之門外的意想不到的后果，中國科學(xué)界的高層往往擔(dān)心競爭可能威脅到他們的地位，“過去，他們傾向于把人才打發(fā)走”。（克里斯.威克漢姆，陳一譯；英國路透社5月28日報(bào)道，原題《中國在科學(xué)上崛起，但這個(gè)方程式可能存在缺陷》）

Insight: China rises in science, but equation may have flaws

LONDON (Reuters) - Deliang Chen started his scientific career in China in the early 1980s, part of the first generation to follow the vicious anti-intellectual years of the Cultural Revolution.

"There was a big desire to help those with degrees," says Chen of those days. "You could become a researcher with a master's degree.There were no PhDs."

China has changed since then, of course. The country has increased its spending on science at a blistering rate and now publishes the second most scientific papers in the world after the United States. Read the headlines and you might think that China is about to overtake the West.

But China's scientifi c progress is no sure thing. Interviews with Chinese scientists working in the West together with data from the OECD and some of the world's leading science academies suggest restrictive political and cultural atudes continue to stifl e science there. International collaboration is harder from China, scientists say, while many still prefer to be educated in and live in the West.

That's certainly Chen's experience. After winning a scholarship to study in Germany in the late 1980s he returned to China for a few years but then got a job offer from Sweden,where he is now a professor in the Earth Sciences department of Gothenburg University. He still has strong links with China's scientific community, and worked as Science Director at the Beijing Climate Center for six years until 2008.From a purely scientific point of view, he says, it's an exciting time to work in China, particularly because funding is generous.

But he thinks predictions that China will surpass the United States in science in the next 20 years are way too optimistic. Everything from a lack of affordable good schools to concerns about poor air and food quality still keep many scientists away. More importantly,China's attitude to free thinking and obsequience to authority hurt its scientifi c progress.

"Freedom of expression is very sensitive and very crucial," he said. "I think it is a real issue. The scientific culture in China is quite d iff erent from Europe and the U.S.There is a much higher respect for authority, and in science this is not good."

COME ON HOME

A Royal Society report on the global science landscape published in 2011 found 70 percent of the 1.06 million Chinese who studied abroad between 1978 and 2006 did not return. Scientists say that fi gure has fallen but estimate around half of all who study abroad still stay away.

Beijing is trying to change that.China's government-sponsored Thousand Talents Program, set up in 2008, has convinced some 600 overseas Chinese and foreign academics to return to China with promises of what Premier Wen Jiabao has described as "talentfavorable policies in households,medical care and the education of children."

That's a good start, but the biggest challenge of all these programs is atiracting people who are willing to move back to China permanently, Chen said from Sweden. "It's not only about the salary, which is the focus of many of these programs. I think it's a litile bit na?ve to think in that way."

The OECD estimates China spends about $154 billion a year on research and development, up from just $30 billion a decade ago with an accelerating trend in recent years. That amount is still only half the EU spend of $300 billion and is dwarfed by $400 billion for the United States.

The investment is starting to pay off. According to Britain's national science academy The Royal Society, China has overtaken the UK as the second leading producer of published scientific research and could surpass the United States as early as next year.

The number of patent fi lings is rocketing. According to data from the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office, China registered 1,655 patents in the United States in 2009, up from just 52 in 1989 and 90 in 1999. And the proportion of science and engineering doctoral graduates pouring out of China's universities, at over 55 percent according to the OECD, rivals the best rates in OECD member countries.

FEEL THE WIDTH, NOT THE QUALITY

But just as Chen says, it's not all about the money. Chinese scientists are offered lucrative incentives to publish - equivalent to several years' salary for a paper that reaches a top international academic journal - which Chinese scientists in the West argue have skewed the research e ff ort towards quantity rather than quality,leading to a series of damaging scandals involving plagiarism and the falsi fi cation of data.

Dig into the numbers and a more nuanced view emerges.

China may be prolific, but the number of papers by Chinese scientists that are published in such top journals as Nature and Science is still far behind that in the West.China also manages far fewer citations in papers that result from international collaboration.

According to data gathered by the OECD, China produced 285,000 papers in 2009. That's about 0.2 papers per 1,000 head of the population. Just 0.05 percent were published in top journals.

By comparison, the United States published 473,000 papers,or 1.6 for every 1,000 people.More than half made it into top journals. The figures for the UK,which punches above its weight,are 134,000 papers, just over 2 per 1,000 people, with more than half in top journals.

Tiny Switzerland, which spends about $10.5 billion a year on research and development,produces nearly 4 per 1,000 people; more than half appear in top journals.

Worldwide, the 50 universities with the best publishing performance are concentrated in a handful of countries, according to the OECD. Unsurprisingly, the United States, home to 40 of the top 50 in a range of fields,dominates. China has just six in the top 50 for Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics plus Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, rated among the best for computer science, engineering and chemistry.

CULTURE CLASH

The main factor hurting progress, says environmental scientist Peng Gong, is China's cultural history.

Gong holds posts at both Tsinghua University in China and the University of California,Berkeley. In January, he wrote an outspoken column for Nature that argued Chinese science is held back by a culture that discourages curiosity and collaboration.

"Two cultural genes have passed through generations of Chinese intellectuals for more than 2,000 years," he wrote. "The first is the thoughts of Confucius, who proposed that intellectuals should become loyal administrators. The second is the writings of Zhuang Zhou, who said that a harmonious society would come from isolating families so as to avoid exchange and conflict, and by shunning technology to avoid greed."

Gong argued that a lack of collaboration and a poor division of labor has led to small research groups duplicating expensive equipment purchases, doing the same analysis and being reluctant to share with rivals. The result is wasted time, money and e ff ort.

Cong Cao, a scholar of Chinese science policy at Britain's University of Nottingham, said intense competition has also had the unintended consequence of locking out foreign talent.Cao says the upper echelons of Chinese science are often fearful of competition that could threaten their status.

"In the past they tended to turn good people away," said Cao.

He believes the country needs to spend more of its growing science budget on basic research,which he estimates gets only 5 percent of funds right now, losing out to development projects that focus on commercial applications.And he argues that China needs more transparency in the way funds are awarded, a betier system of peer review and less direct patronage.

DON'T FEAR THE FUTURE

China can still teach the West a thing or two, as those lobbying to defend science spending in Europe are quick to point out.

The sovereign debt crisis in Europe, which has prompted governments across the EU to trim budgets, is causing what Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research Innovation and Science, calls an"innovation emergency".

"Almost all the member states have improved their innovation performance," she said in a speech in March. "However,progress is patchy across Europe and the pace of change is still too slow to catch up with the United States, the innovation leader.

"Without concerted action,we risk falling further behind, while China continues to close the gap."

Others argue China's rise should not be seen as a threat.

"These are additional people doing science rather than replacing people," said Martyn Poliakoff, a Fellow of The Royal Society and one of the authors of its 2011 science report."The rise of science in China is not quite the same as manufacturing or producing zip fasteners in China. There are a certain number of pairs of trousers in the world but the market for science is not limited."

Poliakoff says there are certain aspects of science that may move from West to East as China develops its scientific capabilities.For example, a colleague of his sent fruit fl ies to China to get their genes sequenced more cheaply.

The challenge for a country like Britain, he says, will be to keep the large number of foreign scientists who work there.

"Over the last few years we have had an increasing number of foreign scientists working in the UK;the conditions for doing science are good. They can go back or go to another country if things change,"Poliako ff said.

Scientists do not have much time for national borders -a strength in Poliakoff's view. He recalls that his 60th birthday was celebrated with colleagues in a room containing 25 nationalities."In general I think the participation of China in science should be welcomed and it isn't something we should be frightened of."

美國國立衛(wèi)生研究院聯(lián)手著名制藥公司開展“舊藥新用”研究

近日，美國國立衛(wèi)生研究院（NIH）發(fā)布消息，宣布將于輝瑞、阿斯利康和禮來三家著名制藥公司合作開展“舊藥新用”研究，嘗試將這三家制藥公司發(fā)現(xiàn)的一些對人體無害卻也無預(yù)期療效的藥物尋找可能的新用途。

藥物研發(fā)歷史中不乏發(fā)現(xiàn)一種新藥具有意想不到藥效的例子?！皞ジ纭痹谘邪l(fā)之初本打算用于治療心絞痛，卻意外證明具有改善陽痿的顯著效果。薩力多胺（俗稱反應(yīng)停）曾因?qū)е聥雰夯味鴱V受詬病，卻被發(fā)現(xiàn)能夠治療麻風(fēng)病和多發(fā)性骨髓瘤。當(dāng)然，這些新發(fā)現(xiàn)都是意外所得。如今，NIH和三家公司打算將這種“偶然”變成“必然”。NIH委托去年新成立的國家先進(jìn)轉(zhuǎn)化科學(xué)中心（NCATS）負(fù)責(zé)這項(xiàng)合作研究的組織，計(jì)劃在未來三年里每年投入2000萬美元，通過項(xiàng)目申請的方式擇優(yōu)資助對該研究感興趣的科學(xué)家。而三大制藥公司則需要提供數(shù)十種研發(fā)中發(fā)現(xiàn)不具有預(yù)期療效的化合物，以及相關(guān)研究資料給中標(biāo)的研究者，以幫助他們盡快尋找這些分子的可能的新功能。此次NIH與三大制藥公司合作的另外一個(gè)突破在于雙方就未來成果的分享達(dá)成了一致，制藥公司和研究人員僅需簽訂一個(gè)“模板式的協(xié)議”來解決將來可能的利益分配問題，而不需要如以往一樣就成果歸屬進(jìn)行曠日持久的談判，大大降低了時(shí)間和經(jīng)濟(jì)成本。

NCATS是去年NIH為加速院內(nèi)科技成果轉(zhuǎn)化而專門成立的新機(jī)構(gòu)，此次與三大制藥公司的聯(lián)手再次充分體現(xiàn)了NIH試圖進(jìn)一步推動基礎(chǔ)研究與產(chǎn)業(yè)結(jié)合的決心，是該院加快成果轉(zhuǎn)化步伐的重要舉措。

NIH, companies aim to teach old drugs new tricks

Three pharmaceutical giants are unlocking their freezers to see if government-funded scientists can reinvent some of their old drugs.

P fi zer, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly& Co. entered a unique program with the National Institutes of Health on Thursday that both sides hope will speed the development of new treatments — by dusting o ff two dozen old drugs that failed to treat one disease but might treat another.

"The goal is simple, to see whether we can teach old drugs new tricks," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Lots of experimental drugs prove safe in early human testing but fail to help the disease their manufacturer had hoped to treat. Despite the years of work and tens of millions of dollars invested in them, "too many times these compounds, they end up sitting on shelves or they end up in somebody's freezer," said Pfizer senior vice president Rod MacKenzie.

Some of those drugs might be able to fi ght other diseases, said NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins.

Consider: A failed cancer drug turned into the fi rst e ff ective AIDS treatment, AZT. The notorious thalidomide caused birth defects in the 1960s when some countries used it for morning sickness, but today it treats multiple myeloma.The bone drug raloxifene was found to also help prevent breast cancer.

Those discoveries "all have been sort of serendipitous. The idea here is, let's not depend on serendipity," Collins said.

In recent years, researchers have identified at the genetic level the causes of more than 4,500 diseases, many of them rare diseases, he said. But only 250 of those conditions have effective treatments.

Likewise, manufacturers have a lot of information about the spec ifi c molecules their failed drugs target. Collins' plan: Try to match those old drugs to these newly discovered disease pathways.

Under the new program, the drug companies will make at least two dozen of their shelved drugs,and the data about them, available for NIH-funded research. The NIH will award grants to scientists around the country who apply to study spec ifi c drugs, with the goal of rapidly beginning human trials of promising candidates since the required safety testing already has been done.

And rather than those scientists undergoing what Lilly executive vice president Jan Lundberg called "endless discussions about legal agreements" before getting to work, the program provides a streamlined approach: The companies retain ownership of their drugs, but the researchers can patent and publish their own discoveries.

The NIH plans to spend about $20 million in the program's first year, and hopes other drug companies will join.

AstraZeneca said it began partnering with British researchers last December in a similar program.

歐盟利用微生物菌群降解有毒化學(xué)污染物質(zhì)

化學(xué)污染物質(zhì)對人類健康、環(huán)境保護(hù)和生態(tài)系統(tǒng)造成了的嚴(yán)重的威脅及危害。其中，鹵代化合物（Halogenated Compounds）是現(xiàn)代經(jīng)濟(jì)社會中最大量存在的環(huán)境化學(xué)污染物質(zhì)之一，主要來自人類廣泛使用的殺蟲劑、化學(xué)溶劑和化工產(chǎn)品等。

歐盟第七研發(fā)框架計(jì)劃（F P7）資助支持的，由德國科研人員領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的歐盟多個(gè)成員國科研人員參與的“Ispadehal”研究團(tuán)隊(duì)，研究開發(fā)的利用新型微生物修復(fù)技術(shù)，努力克服鹵代化合物的有害影響，其治理鹵代化合物污染場所的研究已取得明顯效果。

研究團(tuán)隊(duì)的科研人員，充分發(fā)揮“喜好”脫鹵酶微生物家族的新菌群，即厭氧的Dehalococcoide細(xì)菌（CBDB1菌株）的“特殊”作用，來消化吸收和有效降解鹵代芳香化合物污染物質(zhì)。

為進(jìn)一步深入理解和掌握Dehalococcoide菌群降解化學(xué)污染物質(zhì)的機(jī)理，從而提高微生物修復(fù)技術(shù)的效率，研究團(tuán)隊(duì)的科研人員從CBDB1菌株生理學(xué)的同位素和蛋白質(zhì)組學(xué)入手，集中科技資源研究突破CBDB1菌株的生理學(xué)特性，尤其是顯示還原鹵化苯脫鹵和劇毒鹵化二惡英的機(jī)理。

基于生物學(xué)技術(shù)知識的科研成果，已揭示CBDB1菌株有效降解鹵化苯酚（Chlorinated Phenols）和鹵代聯(lián)苯（Chlorinated Biphenyls），以及其它幾種化學(xué)化合物毒性的奧秘。

研究團(tuán)隊(duì)的科學(xué)研究，充實(shí)了Dehalococcoide菌群的生物學(xué)基礎(chǔ)知識，及其降解危險(xiǎn)化學(xué)污染物質(zhì)的應(yīng)用潛力。該項(xiàng)新型微生物修復(fù)技術(shù)的普及推廣，對生態(tài)環(huán)境的友好性改善和經(jīng)濟(jì)社會的可持續(xù)發(fā)展，具有重大的現(xiàn)實(shí)意義。

Microbes in the fight against pollution

Chemical pollution poses a serious threat for the environment and adjacent ecosystems. A novel bioremediation method using microbes was proposed by European researchers for environmental sites polluted with halogenated compounds.

Halogenated compounds constitute one of the largest groups of environmental pollutants, partly as a result of their widespread use as biocides, solvents and other industrial chemicals.

To overcome the hazardous effects of such compounds,scientists have proposed the use of anaerobic Dehalococcoide bacteria.These are known to exclusively transform halogenated aromatic compounds as part of their life cycle.

However, although Dehalococcoides species have been isolated and physiologically described, many aspects of their physiology are still elusive.

A central research objective of the EU-funded ‘Isotopic and proteomic approaches to dehalococcoides physiology’(Ispadehal) project was to describe the physiological capacities of the Dehalococcoides CBDB1strain.This was the first strain to exhibit reductive dehalogenation of chlorinated benzenes and highly toxic chlorinated dioxins.

Using isotopic and proteomic technologies, project partners studied the physiology of the CBDB1 strain and showed that it could reduce the toxicity of several other compounds including chlorinated phenols and chlorinated biphenyls.

Ispadehal results contributed important insights into the basic physiology of Dehalococcoide bacteria and their potential utilisation as anti-pollutant agents. Implementation of such novel bioremediation strategies holds positive environmental and socioeconomic impacts.

歐盟地?zé)崮茉醇夹g(shù)的研發(fā)及應(yīng)用

歐盟地?zé)崮茉醇夹g(shù)屬于新能源技術(shù)，涉及多學(xué)科、多領(lǐng)域和多行業(yè)，其絕大部分技術(shù)的研發(fā)是新興的綜合性開發(fā)技術(shù)，因此需要統(tǒng)籌資源和優(yōu)化配置，從而形成合力。歐盟第七研發(fā)框架計(jì)劃（FP7）、歐盟戰(zhàn)略能源技術(shù)行動計(jì)劃（SETPlan）和歐洲地?zé)崮茉垂I(yè)協(xié)會，聯(lián)合資助支持的地?zé)崮茉搓P(guān)鍵技術(shù)的研發(fā)創(chuàng)新活動，主要集中于以下優(yōu)先領(lǐng)域的技術(shù)突破及應(yīng)用：

1、超高溫、超高壓深層地?zé)豳Y源有效利用技術(shù)的研究，包括高溫腐蝕性鹽水處理技術(shù)和新型耐腐蝕材料技術(shù)。

2、地?zé)豳Y源特性的研究，包括地溫梯度和地?zé)崃髁繖C(jī)理的基礎(chǔ)研究，地質(zhì)結(jié)構(gòu)包括巖石 學(xué)、水文地質(zhì)學(xué)和地質(zhì)構(gòu)造引發(fā)地震的機(jī)理研究等。

3、地?zé)崽镌O(shè)計(jì)及開采技術(shù)的研發(fā)，包括計(jì)算機(jī)數(shù)字模型、地質(zhì)斷裂特征圖、原位應(yīng)力測定（In-Situ Stress Determination）和最佳刺激區(qū)預(yù)測技術(shù)等。

4、地?zé)崽锎碳ぜ夹g(shù)的研發(fā),包括新型刺激技術(shù)、改進(jìn)型連接井口與地?zé)嵩醇夹g(shù)、增強(qiáng)型液壓穿透刺激技術(shù)、地?zé)崮K化學(xué)刺激技術(shù)、地震/非地震地質(zhì)運(yùn)動剪切過程分析及模型、實(shí)驗(yàn)室及現(xiàn)場測試技術(shù)、環(huán)境友好性化學(xué)催化劑技術(shù)。

5、地?zé)崽镞\(yùn)營及維護(hù)技術(shù)的開發(fā)，包括儲量監(jiān)測分析技術(shù)、新型檢測工具和測繪工具、鹽溶液與巖石的相互作用、新型再注入設(shè)計(jì)（井內(nèi)循環(huán)、冷卻技術(shù)）、微地震誘導(dǎo)技術(shù)、地?zé)崽飪α康牧W(xué)演變、地?zé)崽飰勖偷責(zé)崽飶姆昼姷綌?shù)10年期的儲量模型。

6、鹽溶液防腐技術(shù)的開發(fā)，包括金屬部件表面積的縮小及防腐技術(shù)、熱交換機(jī)和過濾器以及管道防腐技術(shù)、經(jīng)濟(jì)上合適的防護(hù)技術(shù)及產(chǎn)品、以及地?zé)岜玫目煽啃詮?個(gè)月延長至12個(gè)月。

EU support for geothermal energy

Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy is the energy stored in the form of heat below the earth’s surface. Its potential is limitless in human terms and its energy is comparable to the sun. Geothermal heat and water have been used for thousands of years. The Romans, Chinese and Native Americans used hot mineral springs for bathing, cooking and for therapeutic purposes.

Today geothermal water is used in many applications such as district heating, systems which provide steam or hot water to multiple units, as well as for heating and cooling of individual buildings, including offices, shops and residential houses, by using geothermal heat pumps. Moreover,it has industrial potential for raising plants in greenhouses, drying crops,heating water at fish farms and other industrial processes.

For close to 100 years geothermal energy has also been used for electricity generation.Today, so called Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS, also known as Hot Dry Rock), enable the exploitation of the Earth’s heat for producing electricity without having natural water resources. To extract energy from hot impermeable rock,water is injected from the surface into boreholes in order to widen them and create some fractures in the hot rock. Flowing through these holes, the water heats up and,when it returns to the surface, it is used for generating electricity.

Clean, renewable, constant and available worldwide,geothermal energy is already being used in a large number of thermal and electric power plants.

EU support for geothermal energy

Research and technology plays a key role, particularly in the development of the Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), which allow the exploitation of the Earth's heat for producing electricity without having natural water resources.

Since 2002 (FP6), the EU funded around 10 projects with a total budget of more than EUR 20 million. In particular, the flagship project EGS Pilot Plant, which culminated in the construction of a scientifi c pilot plant based on an Enhanced Geothermal System,was awarded EUR 5 million.Under the current 7th Framework Programme (2007-2013) research is funded for advancing knowledge in understanding and mitigating of induced seismicity associated with geothermal fi eld development.

Technical background

Geothermal - generated electricity was first produced in Larderello, Italy, in 1904. Currently just over 1 GW geothermal electric power (of which 0.95 GW operational) is in use in the EU,producing roughly 7 000 GWh of electricity per year. With regards to the heat sector (direct and indirect use), EU installed capacity is almost 9 GWth, accounting for an annual heat production of 85 PJ. The geothermal market is currently concentrated in a number of countries across Europe, with Italy, France, Portugal, Iceland and Turkey leading the electricity sector,and Sweden, Italy, Greece, France,Germany, Hungary, Turkey, Iceland and Switzerland leading the heating sector.

Specifically regarding EGS,R&D research conducted over the past 30 years has led to the 2007 commissioning of the first EGS-assisted operating plant in Landau,Germany, and the plant at Soultzsous-Forêts, France which should be completed within the next two years. Nevertheless, the relevant resources are far from being fully exploited.

According to the IEA,geothermal power plants grew worldwide at a broadly constant rate of about 200 MW/year from 1980 to 2005. In 2007 the total capacity reached around 10 GW, generating 56TWh/year of electricity.

歐盟積極研究海洋藻類植物變廢為寶的新途徑

水體的富營養(yǎng)化造成全球水藻類的快速大量繁殖，“一個(gè)硬幣兩個(gè)面”，一方面藻類影響地球生物鏈的安全健康、破壞生態(tài)環(huán)境和降低生物多樣性；另一方面藻類作為碳匯的載體，又吸收了大量大氣中的二氧化碳（CO2），同時(shí)生產(chǎn)出氣候活性氣體（Climate-Active Gas），可為全球氣候動態(tài)平衡做出重要的貢獻(xiàn)。如何充分有效地?cái)U(kuò)大藻類的可利用價(jià)值面，變廢為寶，是歐盟第七研發(fā)框架計(jì)劃（FP7）資助支持的，由法國科研中心（CNRS）科研人員領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的，歐盟多個(gè)成員國科研人員參與的，F(xiàn)unsex-Dephynd研究團(tuán)隊(duì)的主要使命。

研究團(tuán)隊(duì)的科研人員，以海洋中廣泛存在的、具有復(fù)雜生命周期的和對生物地球化學(xué)（Biogeochemistry）影響重大的微藻，即海洋球石藻（Emiliania Hyxleyi）作為研究對象。海洋球石藻因?yàn)槠浼?xì)胞外殼由碳酸鈣組成，而大量吸收外部的二氧化碳（CO2）。海洋球石藻具有奶白色花期特征，屬于典型的二倍體生命周期（有性和無性繁殖）浮游水生植物，其花期可以釋放出，形同云凝結(jié)核（Cloud Condensation Nucleus）的二甲基硫化物（DMS），是環(huán)境氣候活性清潔氣體。研究團(tuán)隊(duì)的主要任務(wù)是如何擴(kuò)大海洋球石藻的碳匯和產(chǎn)生氣候活性氣體的作用，解開海洋球石藻的生長機(jī)理和新花期生成和培育之謎。

研究團(tuán)隊(duì)利用桑格測序（Sanger Sequencing），分析研究了海洋球石藻有性繁殖、無性繁殖和花期，各階段所具有的20000多個(gè)表達(dá)基因發(fā)現(xiàn)：細(xì)胞有性和無性繁殖不同的應(yīng)激反應(yīng)和指數(shù)增長差別；花期有一半的基因表達(dá)與有性繁殖階段不同；證實(shí)生命周期各主要階段與鈣化相關(guān)的所有主要基因；部分顯示活力海洋球石藻單株的準(zhǔn)確生殖細(xì)胞基因表達(dá)；利用微陣列（Microarray），證實(shí)生命周期各階段磷和氮的作用；低磷的情況下，單倍體生殖細(xì)胞相對二倍體更具耐力；全基因組比較顯示不同單株之間的較大差別；改變責(zé)任基因表達(dá)的結(jié)果區(qū)別；等等。所取得的科研成果及其應(yīng)用，為進(jìn)一步的深入研究打下了堅(jiān)實(shí)的基礎(chǔ)。

A microscopic alga with a big agenda

European scientists are investigating the genetics of a phytoplankton that acts as a carbon sink and produces a climate-active gas. Unravelling what genes are responsible for survival of the sexual phase promises to unlock the secret of repopulation and formation of new blooms.

A tiny alga, Emiliania huxleyi(E. huxleyi), with a complex life cycle plays a big role in the biogeochemistry of our oceans.As a sign ifi cant part of the world's carbon sink, calcareous plates form the armour of the cell surface of the diploid life-cycle phase that is characterised by milky white blooms. E. huxleyi also produces dimethyl sulphide (DMS) which acts as a nucleus for cloud condensation and may therefore play a crucial role in global homeostasis.

The other phase in the life cycle, the sexual or haploid stage produces gametes or sex cells completely resistant to viral atiack and which can virtually wipe out the bloom. With European research awareness of the importance for climate regulation, the EU-funded project 'The functional sign ifi cance of sex and death in phytoplankton differentiation' (Funsex-Dephynd)aimed to study the differences between the sexual and asexual phases to shed light on stress responses and exponential growth of this marine phytoplankton.

Using deep Sanger sequencing, the project team estimated that there were some 20,000 expressed genes in the bloom phase of E. huxleyi, and half of these were likely to be differentially expressed in the sexual phase. The scientists also identified all-important genes relating to calcification in the diploid phase. Highly specific in the haploid stage are expression of genes that result in fl agella so sex cells in some strains are motile.

Funsex-Dephynd also investigated the effects of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen(N) starvation on both phases of the life cycle using microarrays.Haploid sex cells are more tolerant of low P than diploid cells and the scientists identified the changes in gene expression responsible for the differences. Genome-wide comparisons also revealed large differences between different strains of E. huxleyi – 70 strains in warmer waters were found to have lost the ability to form fl agella.Strains in more temperate climates maintained the full life cycle.

the Joint Genome Institute has recently completed an analysis of the whole sequence of E. huxleyi and post-genomic research is important to analyse gene function and its applications.Results of the project will serve to strengthen European research on phytoplankton, crucial for climate regulation.